Beating the SEC and loving Luke: Social media reacts to Illinois bowl victory

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Illinois football team on Tuesday continued its recent bowl success with a 30-28 victory against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.

The Fighting Illini (9-4) posted nine or more wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time and won 19 games in that stretch — also a program record. Bret Bielema is the first Illinois coach to win bowl games in consecutive seasons.

Illinois and Music City Bowl MVP Luke Altmyer controlled the clock and the line of scrimmage — and got one very clutch kick — to top the Volunteers of the SEC at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Music City Bowl recap: Illinois wins dramatic Music City Bowl with field goal in final seconds

We took a spin around social media to gauge reaction to the dramatic bowl victory:

'WALK OFF OLANO': The kick heard 'round Nashville

Illinois placekicker David Olano came up big, drilling his 29-yard try down the middle with no time remaining to send the Fighting Illini to the big bowl victory.

There were numerous angles of the kick across social media, including the one posted below by the Illinois football program, which is followed by the videographer running into the celebratory scrum on the Nissan Stadium turf.

Glenn Kinley of WCIA-TV in Champaign caught video of Olano rushing into the crowd to celebrate with his family after the kick. Olano leaped a tall barrier and landed among his cheering family members.

"David Olano joined his family in the crowd after hitting a game winning field goal for Illinois in the Music City Bowl," Kinley wrote. "Absolutely special moment."

'So happy Bret Bielema is our coach'

Naturally, there was a general celebratory nature among Illini fans, who are getting used to seeing the so-called "sustained success" promised by coach Bret Bielema and athletics director Josh Whitman.

Former WSCR-670 AM personality Herb Lawrence posted a list of Illini accolades, alongside a gif of Lee Corso donning an Illini helmet.

"David Olano calls game … Back to back 9 win seasons … Back to back bowl wins (over SEC competition)," Lawrence posted. "… Luke Altmyer is the best Illini quarterback I’ve ever seen … So happy that Bret Bielema is our coach … I-L-L…"

Armchair Illini also posted a list of Illini superlatives relating to total wins and bowl wins, along with a picture of Bielema jamming on the guitar gifted to him during the pregame news conference by organizers of the Music City Bowl.

"History made for a stellar Football coach," the group wrote. "Illinois is lucky to have him."

Illinois over SEC, again: It just means more?

Illinois defeated an SEC team in a bowl game for consecutive seasons, this victory paired with a win over South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl in 2024. Multiple users on X.com pointed out that the Illini now have more SEC wins in the last two seasons than Mississippi State, which is 1-15 in league play in 2024 and 2025.

The Big Ten and SEC have at least another three matchups over the next couple days, with others possible as the College Football Playoff progresses. The Big Ten is now 6-0 in bowl games and CFP games this season. The SEC is 2-5 in the postseason so far.

One SEC fan who runs the account @secnumbersguy threw a bit of cold water on the Illini party with this post:

"Illinois was PROPPED UP by the Big Ten biased media to be a Top 9 win for Indiana and a Top 17 win for Ohio State. One of the BEST teams in the Big Ten needed a walk off field goal to beat the 8th best team in the SEC."

Within an hour, the post had 600-plus replies, most of them roasting the account — which days before had said the game was "GUARANTEED" win.

'I love you, Luke Altmyer'

The last words of this story will go to celebrating graduating Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, who will go down in history as one of the best and most beloved Illini players ever — if the sentiment on social media is any indication.

Fans from across the web lavished praise on the gunslinger, who pulled out his seventh career game-winning drive in the final minute or overtime with Illinois. A sampling of his praise:

  • "So damn happy for Luke Altmyer tonight #Illini" — @rjohns52
  • "Can't consume enough luke altmyer content" — @MCE0045
  • "Illinois Football is back! Thank you Bret Bielema, and thank you Luke Altmyer for putting Illinois Football back on the map." — @Chicago_Sully
  • "Altmyer should never buy a beer again in Champaign." — @JonTracey4
  • "Straight up none better than Altmyer best Illini QB of all time. Not particularly close imho." — @IlliniNation_
  • "He is an all-timer. Trudeau. George. Kittner. But Altmyer played with them all." — @AnnaKareninaXX
  • "The Altmyer era is the good old days. Hope everyone drank it in." — @Stringfellow911
  • "I love you, Luke Altmyer. Thank you for everything." — @ZANmadden

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Social media reactions to Illinois football win in Music City Bowl

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